‘Smart(er) Shop’ Offers Byte-Sized Solutions for Cybersecurity, Rented Robots, and Connected Shops

What can you do about cybersecurity when you are both the shop staff and the IT staff? Could a rented robot solve inspection challenges? Are sticky notes your idea of shop communication?

“Smart(er) Shop” features Ryan Kelly, the general manager for AMT’s San Francisco Tech Lab, and Adam Allard, senior manager of technical environments at Autodesk, who oversees Autodesk Technology Centers across North America. Kelly and Allard offer up three budget-friendly, easy-to-implement ideas for small and medium-sized shops. They focus on technology, but you don’t need to be an IT wizard or automation expert to take advantage of the “byte-sized” solutions featured in Season 2.

Cybersecurity Tips From MxD

Recent research shows that manufacturing is the target for nearly one-quarter of ransomware attacks. To address this, the season premiere of “Smart(er) Shops” features Chicago-based MxD, the national digital manufacturing and cybersecurity institute. The MxD team highlights six security practices from its free cybersecurity playbook that anyone can implement. Learn how to deal with tailgaters (someone riding your tail to enter a facility on your security badge), use encrypted USBs, set up allow-listing software, and more. For shops pursuing Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC 2.0) to obtain defense contracts, this two-part episode is a must-watch.

Connected Solutions

Filmed at the Autodesk Technology Center at Pier 9 in San Francisco, the second episode focuses on the benefits of a connected shop. The Autodesk team demonstrates the productivity and quality benefits possible with CAD-CAM software featuring built-in (and free!) drivers for Haas, Mazak, and other CNCs. In an era where too many shops write post-processor information on a sticky note and pray for good outcomes after pressing the cycle-start button, this episode drives home the benefits of a modern digital workflow. It also features a malicious penguin and channels “Young Frankenstein” to convey key points.

Rental Robots for Quality Control

Episode 3 takes the team to Topcon Position Systems, a leading global manufacturer of positioning systems for construction and agricultural equipment. Kelly and Allard learn that while human brains are great at recognizing patterns, they are lousy at concentrating on repetitive details, which creates a vexing inspection problem. Using a robots-as-a-service solution from Rapid Robotics paired with an AI-driven vision system from Elementary, Topcon has eliminated a quality control issue that plagues many manufacturers. The best part: The solution hits the company’s operating budget for about the daily cost of a lunch for two.

30/10/2023